Progress report for FW24-019
Project Information
Currently range sheep producers hold off breeding ewe lambs until
they are 18 months of age. In a previous grant we showed an
economic benefit for breeding ewe lambs. Producers were concerned
with the productive longevity of the ewe lambs. We want to
follow-up our previous grant (FW22-394) and follow the ewes for
three more years, five years total. We want to add an
additional 75 ewe lambs to our data. We will determine the
difference in ewe live weight and lamb weights between ewe lambs
bred and ewes bred at 18-months. Breeding ewe lambs will give
producers another management tool for increasing productivity and
profitability.
We will follow the ewes from our previous grant, breed
twenty-five additional ewe lambs and determine the affects of ewe
weight on lambs weights between breeding ewe lambs and yearling
ewe lambs. Each ewe and lamb identified with EID tags and
followed with the Gallagher Animal Management system. Weights of
ewes and lambs, and number of lambs will be taken at lambing,
when the sheep are moved from spring range to summer range and at
weaning.
We hypothesize that the breeding of ewe lambs will not affect the
production longevity of breeding ewe lambs. If this is the
case, the economic value ranges from $80 to $90 per ewe.
The ewe lambs are more likely to have twins their second year
where as those bred at 18 months are more likely to have
singles.
We will produce a pamphlet to distribute to producers and have a
questionnaire to get their feedback. We will also present
our findings at an animal conference and submit a manuscript of
the findings in a academic publication.
Objective 1: Continue to monitor ewe lambs that were
bred from our previous grant (FW22-394) to determine lamb
production for five years.
Objective 2: Increase the number of ewe lambs
bred, adding more ewes to the ewes from grant #FW22-394.
Objective 3: Determine the difference in ewe
live weight and lamb weights between ewe lambs bred and those
that were bred at 18 months.
Objective 4: Disseminate our findings to
producers and academia through pamphlets, scientific manuscript
and conference talk.
| Date | Year | Activities | Team Members |
| GRP1 (continuation from grant #FW22-394) Work supported by BYU | |||
| Oct 1 to Dec 1 | 2023 | Second breeding of FW22-394's ewes (Objective 1), first breeding of FW22-394 CTRL ewes, and breeding of the addition ewe lambs (Objective 2) | Peckham and Robinson |
| Jan 2 | 2024 | Pregnancy determination (blood samples) | Peckham, Robinson and BYU students |
| Jan 3 to Feb 20 | 2024 | Desert Range | Peckham |
| Mar 1 | 2024 | Weigh and shear | Peckham and Robinson |
| April 15 to May 15 | 2024 | Lambing, weigh ewes and lambs, EID tag | Peckham and Robinson |
| Work supported by this grant | |||
| May 15 to July 1 | 2024 | Spring range | Peckham |
| July 1 | 2024 | Weigh ewes and lambs | Peckham and Robinson |
| July 2 | 2024 | wean EWL group (Objective 1) | Peckham and Robinson |
| July 2 to Oct 1 | 2024 | Mountain range | Peckham |
| Oct 1 | 2024 | Weigh ewes and lambs and wean lambs, move NWL (Objective 1) to feedlot | Peckham and Robinson |
| Repeat this pattern until May 15 2027 |
Cooperators
- - Technical Advisor
Research
Objective 1: Continue to monitor ewe lambs that were bred from our previous grant (FW22-394) to determine lamb production for five years.
For this grant study, we will use the ewe lambs from our previous study (GRP1) to determine the effects of breeding ewe lambs on reproductive longevity. The ewes from the previous grant will have lambed five times by the end of our proposed study in 2027. The ewes and lambs will be EID tagged for ease of identification using the Gallagher Animal Management system. The data collected from the previous grant study will be added to the data we collect from this study to give us a five-year period for the early bred groups compared to the four-year period for the CTRL ewes. Ewes from the EWL and NWL groups that did not lamb will be included in our analysis. The ewes (GRP1) will be weighed when they lamb and when they move from range to range. We will document the lambs they produce and the lambs they wean. We will also document if they produce replacement ewe lambs and keep track of their production. This data collection will continue until lambing of 2027. The bred ewe production will be compared to the study ewes that did not lamb at year one.
Objective 2: Increase the number of ewe lambs bred, adding more ewes to the ewes from grant #FW22-394.
We have twenty-eight ewe lambs that were weaned after they were moved from the mountain range and have been placed in a feedlot and treated as the NWL group from our previous grant. These ewe lambs will lamb in April with the ewes from GRP1. An Additional 28 ewe lambs were placed in a pasture and will act as a CTRL group. All 56 ewe lambs have been EID tagged and will be monitored for the period of this grant. These ewe lambs will increase the number of ewe lambs bred with a group of EID tagged CRTL lambs.
The fifty additional ewe lambs, at birth (April 15th to ~ May 1st), will be weighed, and EID ear tags to identify them in the future. The lambs will be randomly allocated to either the early weaned group (EWL) or the normal weaned group (NWL). An additional 25 ewe lambs (CRTL) will be tagged and treated as I have my replacement ewe lambs in the past.
The lambs will remain with their mothers as they move from the lambing pens to spring pastures (May 1st to May 30th) then to the spring range (May 30 to July 1st). We will weigh the lambs when they move from the spring range to the summer mountain range. The EWL lambs will be sorted out and moved to a feedlot pen, while the other lambs remain with the mothers and moved to the mountain range.
The 25 EWL will have free-choice water, fed an alfalfa-based (51%) diet supplemented with barley/corn (46%) and soybean meal (4%) mix. Feed intake will be determined weekly and adjusted to provide 10% above intake. Lambs will be weighed every two weeks. Average daily gain and feed efficiency will be calculated to monitor growth of the lambs.
In October, when the sheep return from the mountain range, the lambs will be weaned, weighed and the NWL group moved to the feedlot with the EWL. The CTRL lambs will be moved to a pasture. The EWL and NWL will be fed the same diet (diet fed to the EWL) and treated the same for the remainder of the study. The CTRL group will be handled as we have with replacement ewe lambs in the past (moved to a meadow pasture.
The lambs will be weighed at two-week intervals. From October 1st to October 15th, a ram will be placed with the ewe lambs to initiate estrus cycling. The ram will be removed and returned on November 1st for breeding. Ewe lambs will be housed together during the breeding period. Rams will be removed on November 30th. Ewe lamb pregnancy will be determined by ultrasound and confirmed with blood analysis on January 2nd. The EWL and NWL ewe lambs will rejoin the rest of my replacement ewe lambs for the remainder of their gestation.
Objective 3: Determine the difference in ewe live weight and lamb weights between ewe lambs bred and those that were bred at 18 months.
At lambing each year, ewes and lambs from the bred ewe lamb groups will be weighed and EID tagged. The number of lambs born and their weights will be compared to the CTRL ewe lambs. The ewes and their lambs will be moved from pastures to spring range and mountain range. When the sheep are moved from the mountain range and the lambs weaned, they will be weighed, and the percentage of lambs weaned from the ewe lamb groups will be determined. This will be repeated until the end of lambing 2027. This will give us five years of data for ewes from the grant #FW22-394, four years for the ewes started in 2023 and three years for the ewes proposed in the grant.
Objective 4: Disseminate our findings to producers and academia through pamphlets, scientific manuscript and conference talk.
We will produce educational pamphlets that we can distribute to producers. Dr. Robinson will prepare a manuscript and submit our findings for publication in an academic journal. We will present the study at a Western Wool Growers meeting and visit with producers and get their feedback. The success of this research will be how many producers would start breeding ewe lambs.
Research Outcomes
Twenty-eight lambs from the 2023 lambing period were weaned on 10/7/23. Weaning weight was 119 pounds. The lambs were put on the TMR of 50% alfalfa, 46% corn/barley and 4% soybean meal. Feed intake was 4.3# as-fed. Breeding was from 11/1/23 to 12/1/23. The pregnancy rate of these lambs was 36% as determined by blood analysis. At Birth 129#.
2024 lambing data:
From the ewe lambs from the previous study we had the following:
EWL (weaned at three months of age and put on TMR) – 22 ewes resulted in 12 singles and 3 sets of twins. Lamb birth weights averaged 9.4 pounds.
NWL (weaned at the normal time then put on TMR) – 33 ewes resulted in 21 singles and 6 sets of twins with an average birth weight of 10.1 pounds
CTRL (weaned and put out on pasture) – 8 ewes resulting in 8 singles and 3 sets of twins with an average birth weight of 10.3 pounds.
From the 28 - 2023 NWL lambs, 11 lambs were born averaging 13.3 pounds. From 50 CTRL ewe lambs, only 1 ewe lambed a single. Ten 2023 NWL lambs were weaned with an average weight of 96.2 pounds and sold for $1.72/pound resulting in $1655 income from the lambs. Cost to feed the twenty-eight 2023 NWL ewes was $822. Income from the ewes was $29.75/ewe 2023 NWL lamb fed.
2024 lambs-
EWL – 20 lambs with an average birth weight of 10.4 pounds were weaned early on 7/10/25 averaging 54.9 pounds. Average weight on 10/25/24 at our normal weaning date was breeding was 119 pounds with an average daily feed intake of 3.7 pounds as-fed. Breeding was from 11/15/24 to 12/15/24 and resulted in 18 of the 20 lambs confirmed pregnant by blood analysis. These lambs were on TMR for 84 days at a cost of $0.21/pound or $65/ewe lamb.
NWL – 15 lambs averaging 10.4 pounds at birth were weaned, at our normal time, on 10/5/25 averaging 94 pounds. Average weight at breeding was 112 pounds with a daily intake of 4.1 pounds as-fed. Breeding was from 11/15/24 to 12/15/24 and resulted in 12 of 15 lambs confirmed pregnant by blood analysis. These lambs were on TMR feed for 42 days or $36/ewe lamb.
Based on these findings and in conjunction with the findings of the previous study, 42 EWL lambs were bred and 93% were confirmed pregnant. For the NWL, 60% of these lambs were confirmed pregnant. Cost of feed and time for per lamb fed profits lead us to believe that weaning the lambs at our normal time then feeding them a TMR before breeding may be more beneficial economically.
Education and Outreach
Participation Summary:
The results of this study will be presented and explained to producers face to face, through pamphlets and factsheets. There are approximately 20 large sheep producers located in our area that we will present this information with as well as to members of the Western States Woolgrowers Association. With the help of Dr. Robinson, our findings will be presented at the annual Western States Woolgrowers meeting in November 2027 (the place and date are not yet available). The incorporation of more ewes from this grant will result in data that can be submitted to scientific journals like The Journal of Animal Science and Small Ruminant Research, both are international journals. We have designed the study in this proposal so that it is presentable at the farm level and the academic level. We feel this will result in a broader dissemination of the results. Dr. Robinson will include BYU students from his nutrition and animal husbandry courses in the different aspects of the study over the three year period.
Education and Outreach Outcomes
We are still in the first year of data collection on this study. We have discussed our previous study with more producers and we are getting more feedback from them on our approach. We now have more sheep numbers from this past year to add to the previous that strengthens our hypothesis.
Our breeding of ewe lambs has been tried by a lot of the producers. They have felt the effort was not worth the outcome. The attempts have not included increasing nutrition fed to the lambs to increase their growth rates. This is the main piece of information that has increased their interest.